Bengals vs Colts: Odds, expert picks, analysis, predictions for NFL Week 8

The Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts both only have two wins on the season, but they shouldn’t be considered on the same tier as far as talent.

The Colts have played as bad as you’d expect them to play without Andrew Luck, who will miss this game. They also lost their first round pick Malik Hooker for the season last week.

The Bengals, however, seem to finally be getting healthy. John Ross should return to the field for the first time since he was benched and injured in Week 2. His presence should do nothing but help a team that is desperate to find a playmaker outside of A.J. Green. Tyler Boyd and Cody Core have been ruled out this week, so Ross should get ample opportunity to show his stuff against a secondary that has struggled.

Odds

The Bengals are currently 10.5-point favorites against the Colts, according to Bovada. The spread has increased slightly since the Bengals opened as a 10-point favorite this week.

The Bengals are coming off a frustrating loss to the Steelers, but this wide spread has more to do with the Colts being one of the worst teams in the NFL. Last week the Jaguars blew them out 27-0 while sacking Jacoby Brissett 10 times.

Betting trends for both teams:

• Cincinnati is 2-4 straight up in its last six games
• The total has gone under in eight of Cincinnati's last 10 games
• The total has gone under in five of Cincinnati's last five games at home
• Cincinnati is 2-9 straight up in its last 11 games when playing Indianapolis
• The total has gone under in five of Cincinnati's last seven games when playing Indianapolis
• Cincinnati is 3-6 against the spread in its last nine games when playing at home against Indianapolis
• Cincinnati is 3-7 straight up in its last 10 games when playing at home against Indianapolis
• The total has gone over in four of Cincinnati's last five games when playing at home against Indianapolis
• Indianapolis is 3-6 against the spread in its last nine games
• Indianapolis is 2-5 straight up in its last seven games
• The total has gone over in four of Indianapolis's last five games
• Indianapolis is 1-4 against the spread in its last five games on the road
• Indianapolis is 1-4 straight up in its last five games on the road
• The total has gone over in 10 of Indianapolis's last 11 games on the road
• Indianapolis is 9-2 straight up in its last 11 games when playing Cincinnati
• The total has gone under in five of Indianapolis's last seven games when playing Cincinnati
• Indianapolis is 6-3 against the spread in its last nine games when playing on the road against Cincinnati
• Indianapolis is 7-3 straight up in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Cincinnati
• The total has gone over in four of Indianapolis's last five games when playing on the road against Cincinnati

Expert Picks from Bengals vs Colts

• Only one of CBS Sports’ eight experts picked against the Bengals
• ESPN’s 10 experts unanimously picked the Bengals.
• Fox Sports is projecting a slight victory for the Bengals.
• All eight of SB Nation’s expert pickers chose the Bengals to win.
• NFL Pick Watch, which takes into account picks from experts across the internet, has 97 percent of experts picking the Bengals this week.

The Bengals and Colts seem to be on two different paths for the rest of the season. The Bengals have an opportunity to gain some momentum, but the playoffs seem out of reach at this point unless we see a big (and unlikely) change in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, the Colts will be picking very high in this season’s draft. Maybe they will finally get Luck some help.